CIÉ 071 Class

The Córas Iompair Éireann 071 Class locomotives were the principal passenger locomotives on the Irish railway network for twenty years from their introduction in the late 1970s. They displaced the older CIÉ 001 Class locomotives and were themselves replaced in turn by the new 201 Class locomotives.

Currently all the CIÉ locomotives remain in service, being used on freight and permanent way trains.

The locomotives arrived in Ireland on 2 November 1976 and were purchased to facilitate 90 mph running on the Cork and Belfast lines. A trade dispute resulted in a significant delay in their introduction; the first service was operated on 23 May 1977 hauled by 082 on the 14:30 Dublin Heuston to Cork. The class was originally fitted with an EMD 12-645E3B engine but was upgraded to 12-645E3C specification in 1992, along with the installation of yaw dampers to resolve issues of poor ride quality and bogie cracks at high speeds.

In November 2006, IÉ began an overhaul programme of twelve units only, leaving the fate of their remaining six units in doubt. By 2009 fourteen 071s had received the new 'Freight Livery’ however not all had received an overhaul. Those that received a re-paint into the new livery were: Nos. 071, 072, 073, 074, 075, 076, 079, 080, 081, 082, 083, 085, 086 and 088. On Saturday 14 and 15 November 2009 075 and a Tara Mines train was used in testing of the new Broadmeadow Viaduct at Malahide.

In 2013 an overhaul programme started for all eighteen class members which includes an engine rebuild, refurbished bogies, new panels, new cabs and a new slate grey livery complete with European numbering. As of September 2018, the entire 071 Class has been refurbished. Class members that had been out of use for a number of years have been reinstated into service after overhaul. After the class stopped hauling passenger services, Iarnród Éireann reduced the max speed of the locomotives to 120 km/h (75 mph) while light engine and 80 km/h (50 mph) while operating certain freight services.

In 2016, several members of the class received a commemorative plaque beneath their handbrakes in recognition of their 40 years of service with CIÉ and Iarnród Éireann. Loco 071 was repainted back to its original CIÉ Supertrain livery of black and orange in May 2016, with its first working thereafter being the RPSI diesel tour from Dublin to Waterford and Limerick Junction.

In July 2017, loco 073 was overhauled and repainted back to the original Irish Rail livery dating back to 1987 in order to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the company.

IÉ announced plans in 2023 to convert a member of the fleet to run on hydrogen with the assistance of Latvian firm DIGAS. The project is expected to cost around €1.5 million and will receive funding from the European Union.

The three NI Railways Class 110 locomotives are identical to CIÉ's 071 Class. The first two were acquired in 1980 and the third in 1984. The locomotives were numbered 111, 112 and 113 and named Great Northern, Northern Counties and Belfast & County Down respectively. A number 8 was later prefixed to all the original numbers for NIR's computer system.

The Class 110 were inititially used to replace the NIR 101 Class on the Enterprise service, hauling Mark 2 carriages bought second-hand from British Rail. Locomotive 112 was on long-term loan to Iarnród Éireann from 2003 until 2006. In 2007, it was announced that the three locomotives would be converted for push-pull operation with a DBSO driving trailer, however this never happened. The DBSO was disposed of, never having been used, and is now preserved at the Downpatrick and County Down Railway and the other ex-Gatwick Express carriages were sold to the Railway Preservation Society of Ireland (RPSI), leaving the Class 110 locomotives with no normal passenger duties. As of 2023 the locomotives are no longer permitted to haul passenger trains (including for third parties like the RPSI) but remain in use for shunting, permanent way and engineering duties.

111 and 113 have been tested working in multiple, for use on the steep gradients of the Antrim branch line during ballasting operations, where the additional adhesion at low speed during ballasting is required.

IÉ/NIR locomotive names

All three Northern Ireland Railways locomotives are named after former railway companies. Two of the Iarnród Éireann freight locomotives are named. Details are as follows:

Four similar EMD JT22CW-2 locomotives are used by Serbian Railways, designated as ŽS series 666. They were originally intended by Yugoslav Railways for use with Tito's special Blue Train, hence their all blue livery. These locomotives differ from the Irish units in being standard gauge rather than Irish 5 ft 3 in gauge and having a full-width car-body. After the dissolution of Yugoslavia, the locomotives have been used to haul freight and passenger trains. Three locomotives are currently not operational and awaiting overhaul, while 003 (Sutjeska) started running test rides in January 2015 after an overhaul in Kraljevo. On Friday 23 January 2015 003 re-entered service.

JŽ/ŽS/SV locomotive names

All four Class 666 locomotives of Yugoslav Railways were named after places important to the People's Liberation War.

• Auxiliary Alternator: D14
• Auxiliary Generator: A-8147M1, 18 kW (24 hp)
• Power at rail: 1,300 kW (1,700 hp)
• Storage Battery: 32 cells, 420 ampere hours
• Bogies: Flexicoil
• Wheel Diameter: 1,016 mm (40.0 inches)
• Compressor/Exhauster: Model ABOV
• Height over horn: 4.04 m (13 ft 3 in)
• Width: 2.89 m (9 ft 5+3⁄4 in)
• Fuel Tank: 3,600 L (790 imp gal; 950 US gal)
• Min Turning Radius: 50 m (164.04 ft)
• Multiple working: To AAR, with all IÉ & NIR GM locos
• Nos. 111 and 112 were modified by NIR to provide head end power to coaching stock in the early 1990s, however this capability was seldom used and is now isolated.

• On Friday 1 August 1980, locomotive 075 was hauling a passenger train which was derailed at Buttevant, County Cork, killing eighteen and injuring 62 people.
• On 21 August 1983, locomotive 086 was hauling a passenger train which ran into the back of another passenger train near Cherryville Junction, County Kildare. Seven people were killed and 55 were injured.

An 00 gauge resin kit of the 071 Class was produced by Model Irish Railways (MIR) but is no longer available. Murphy Models released an 00 gauge ready-to-run model of the 071 class in 2012.

Both the 071 and 110 class have been produced as player drivable locomotives in the Microsoft Train Simulator add-on, "Irish Enterprise North" by Making Tracks.